Carmen and Cam Allen Launch Sundance Studio Tour
by Sally Hansen
Labour Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in Canada since the 1880s. The holiday originally marked the printers’ revolt in 1872 in Toronto, where labourers tried to establish a 54-hour work-week. In 2007 most Canadians view the event as the last long weekend of summer, with adults closing up the cottage and kids partying before they head back to school.
In the Valley, many of us celebrate Labour Day Weekend by heading into the beautiful Ontario countryside and enjoying one of the many wonderful artist studio tours designed to bring us closer to nature and our local artists. This year Labour Day Weekend marks the introduction of a new walking studio tour at Sundance Studio, the home and studio(s) of Carmen and Cam Allen, located a few minutes west of Maberly, and about 30 minutes from Perth.
For the past five years the Allens both participated in the Inroads Studio Tour that features visits to artists’ home studios sprinkled across the Land O’ Lakes & Lanark Highlands Tourist Regions. Carmen’s three-dimensional stained glass pieces celebrate her love of nature, and her whimsical copper garden pieces reveal her sense of humour. Cam deploys his lifetime of building and engineering skills to design and build wooden birdhouses, feeders, and (new this year) mailboxes and home plaques embossed with a laser.
The Allens’ home is situated near the midpoint of the ruggedly beautiful terrain encompassed by the far-flung Inroads Studio Tour, so Carmen and Cam decided to complement the successful driving studio tour with a smaller walking tour at their woodland retreat. The first Sundance Studio Tour will take place September 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and features twelve artists, each highlighted in a separate nook of the Allens’ well-tended and ever-expanding gardens, ponds and forest trails.
Sundance Studio is the retirement project this energetic couple inadvertently and incrementally embarked on when they decided to wind down their construction business. They originally intended to improve the unfinished house they had bought, sell it, and buy a place more suited to their needs. But after years of working together on their favourite activities — artistically enhancing their delightful country property, and creating hand-crafted artwork — they realized they had created an environment that would be hard to surpass. So they bought a large piece of undeveloped nature across the road to satisfy their two outstanding requirements: a private place to walk “the boys” (two adoring and adorable golden retrievers), and a place to park cars during their new walking studio tour!
Sundance is an ideal setting for a walking tour, offering each participating artist a private area to display their work and chat with guests. The Allens have invited ten other artists and artisans, a musical duo named Caccia, and the Fall River Pub & Grill to provide an event that appeals to all our human senses. Caccia will perform live music throughout the weekend, with Anne Archer on flute, penny whistle and recorder, and Chris Giguere on classical guitar. Lunch will be served by Maberly’s Fall River Pub & Grill, known for its great food and organic and local ingredients. Truffles from Kathleen’s Kitchen will compete with the heavenly smells of the gardens for your olfactory attention. And there is enough to see and touch to keep you busy and happy for at least a full day of the three-day holiday weekend.
In addition to Carmen’s stained glass and copper, and Cam’s wooden feeders and birdhouses, Dawn Burnham’s porcelain/stoneware bowls and Mark Burnham’s wooden creations will be on display. Bill Neddow’s wooden bowls, Doug MacDonald’s architectural sculptures in cast stone, John MacDonald’s metal garden sculptures, and Loretta Moore’s hooked rugs will impress and tempt you. And if immersing yourself in nature is part of the reason you decided to join the tour, you’ll love Gary Barr’s landscape paintings. For something a bit off the beaten path, Marilynne Gowan’s multi-media sculpture is sure to capture your attention. As an extra inducement to get husbands to come along, Grant Frazer will be exhibiting his unique hand-forged quality knives.
It is obvious that Carmen and Cam Allen are lavishing the same care and attention on their new Studio Tour that has made Sundance Studio such a perfect venue for it. There will be sheltered seating for lunch and to enjoy Caccia’s live music. Parking is readily available across the road and washrooms are provided. All five senses have been carefully considered and catered to. Come! Indulge yourselves.
Sundance Program
Sundance Studio Tour takes place Saturday and Sunday, September 1 and 2, from 10–5, and Monday (Labour Day), September 3, from 10–4. Details and a map are available at their website or by calling 268–2171.
Sundance Studio is located at 1047 Zealand Road, northwest of Maberly. Travelling west on Route 7, Zealand Road is accessed by taking route 36 (Maberly/Elphin Rd.) north and turning west on Zealand Rd. Traveling east on Route 7, turn north on Zealand Rd. just past route 38 to Sharbot Lake and Kingston. You’ll be glad you did.